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Cardano Bleeds $1B as Investors Bolt—History Repeats Before ATH?

Cardano Bleeds $1B as Investors Bolt—History Repeats Before ATH?

Author:
Tronweekly
Published:
2025-05-20 17:19:06
18
2

Deja vu hits Cardano markets as whales dump nearly $1 billion in ADA—mirroring the exodus before its last parabolic rally. Are retail traders about to be left holding the bag again?

Pattern recognition alert: The same ’smart money’ flight preceded ADA’s 2021 all-time high. This time, institutional players are rotating into Ethereum L2s while whispering about ’overdue corrections.’

Cynic’s corner: When crypto VCs talk ’risk management,’ check your wallet. Their exit liquidity usually comes wearing a ’long-term HODL’ T-shirt.

Cardano (ADA)

  • Since early 2025, almost $1 billion in ADA has flowed out of centralized exchanges, as per Taptools report.
  • Similar outflow levels were last seen in 2021 when ADA reached its $3.10 all-time high.
  • Charles Hoskinson confirmed potential DeFi collaboration with Litecoin, boosting cross-chain partnership speculation.

Cardano (ADA) is showing signs of a major shift, as nearly $1 billion ($932M) worth of its tokens has vanished from centralized exchanges. The MOVE has caught the attention of analysts, with TapTools confirming this ongoing trend since January 2025. That large-scale outflow echoes the kind of movement last seen during its 2021 price surge to $3.10.

The chart points to two key periods: ADA’s all-time high (ATH) in 2021 and the ongoing outflows in 2025. The current withdrawals, marked heavily in red, show sustained outflows exceeding $100 million in several instances, suggesting accumulation or a move toward long-term holding.

During the 2021 ATH, ADA’s price peaked just above $3, with a notable spike in inflows and volatility. In contrast, recent outflows are unfolding without a dramatic price spike, hinting that investors might be pulling coins from exchanges ahead of potential future gains.

If this trend continues, it could create supply constraints on exchanges — a condition that, combined with demand, might fuel the next leg of Cardano’s bull run.

ADA 1

Source: Taptools

DeFi Collaboration with Litecoin Could Boost ADA

In addition to the outflow trend, a potential partnership between Cardano and Litecoin has sparked growing interest. Charles Hoskinson, Cardano’s founder, recently addressed rumors about a strategic DeFi collaboration with Litecoin. This speculation had been circulating for months, and the conversation gained traction after crypto commentator Angry Crypto Show posted a viral tweet.

“Litecoin has incredible branding and a strong community. Charles has mentioned multiple times his interest to include Litecoin in a variety of DeFi options,” the tweet stated. Hoskinson responded quickly, confirming the connection. “Love the Litecoin community and have known Charlie and Bobby for over a decade. Great community!” he wrote.

Love the litecoin community and have known charlie abd Bobby for over a decade. Great community! https://t.co/I3tsOcQK4j

— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) May 18, 2025

This exchange hints that Cardano may be looking to integrate Litecoin into its decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, particularly through the upcoming privacy protocol, Midnight. Such a collaboration would represent a significant cross-chain partnership, bringing together two of the oldest and most established Layer-1 blockchains in the market.

ADA ETF Approval Could Fuel Market Growth

Another source of Optimism comes from the rising chance of a U.S. exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on Cardano. Forecasts from prediction platform Polymarket show a 64% probability that the SEC will approve a spot Cardano ETF before the end of the year. That would open the door to broader institutional investment, similar to what happened when Bitcoin gained ETF status.

ada etf

Source: PolyMarket

Grayscale is the only firm that has submitted an official filing for such a product. The SEC acknowledged that application back in February. Grayscale also played a central role in getting the first spot Bitcoin ETF across the line, giving some extra weight to its latest push for ADA.

Meanwhile, 21Shares, a Swiss asset manager, already offers a cardano ETP that has gathered over $72 million under management. This shows clear demand from institutional investors who see value in Cardano’s technology and future prospects.

With assets leaving exchanges, potential cross-chain partnerships, and ETF momentum gaining speed, the path ahead for ADA could mirror earlier patterns. Whether that leads back to $3.10 depends on sentiment, and continued traction across both retail and institutional players. But signals are starting to point in a familiar direction.

Read More | A Temporary Rise in Dogecoin Has Been Followed By Another decline: What Will be its Next Move?

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